Freight delivery company Landstar (NASDAQ: LSTR) reported revenue ahead of Wall Street’s expectations in Q3 2026, with revenue rising 25.1% year on year to $1.51 billion. Its GAAP profit of $1.42 per share was 15.3% below analysts’ consensus estimates.

For more on Landstar, read the full research report for free.

“The Landstar team of independent business owners and employees excelled in a freight transportation backdrop that continues to improve. Our network generated truck revenue of $1.407 billion, an increase of 29% compared to the 2025 third quarter, with revenue generated via van and unsided/platform equipment each increasing over 30% compared to the 2025 third quarter,” said Landstar President and Chief Executive Officer Frank Lonegro. “In addition, I was highly encouraged to see our net 165 Business Capacity Owner (BCO) truck additions during the third quarter, the strongest quarterly improvement since the third quarter of 2021. We are continuing to deliver safety, security and service for our customers, and our BCOs achieved a 5% year-over-year improvement in DOT accident frequency. Even so, we are not immune to the challenges of the insurance and claims inflation prevalent in our industry.”

Revenue growth

Examining a company’s long-term performance can provide clues about its quality. Any business can report a good quarter or two, but the best consistently grow over the long haul. Landstar’s demand was weak over the last five years as its revenue fell at a 2.1% annual rate. That outcome points to poor business quality.

Long-term growth matters most, but within industrials, a half-decade historical view may miss cycles, industry trends or a company capitalizing on catalysts such as a new contract win or a successful product line. Landstar’s annualized revenue growth of 4.8% over the last two years is above its five-year trend, a positive sign.

Landstar also breaks out the revenue for its most important segments, Van Equipment and Platform Equipment, which are 50.3% and 34.3% of revenue. Over the last two years, Landstar’s Van Equipment revenue (full truckload van transportation) averaged 4.8% year-on-year growth while its Platform Equipment revenue (full truckload trailer transportation) averaged 12.1% growth.

This quarter, Landstar reported strong year-on-year revenue growth of 25.1%, and its $1.51 billion of revenue topped Wall Street’s consensus estimates by 0.5%.

Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 17% over the next 12 months, according to S&P, an improvement versus the last two years. This strong growth forecast implies its newer products and services will drive better revenue performance.

Operating margin

Landstar was profitable over the last five years but held back by its large cost base. Its average operating margin of 5.8% was weak for an industrials business. That outcome is unsurprising given its low gross margin baseline.

Looking at the trend in its profitability, Landstar’s operating margin decreased by 3.7 percentage points over the last five years. Landstar’s performance was poor: costs were rising and it couldn’t pass them on to customers.

This quarter, Landstar generated an operating margin of 4.3%, up 2.2 percentage points year on year. The increase was a positive sign, and the improvement despite a decline in gross margin suggests greater efficiency, as operating expenses such as marketing, R&D and administrative overhead grew more slowly than revenue.

Earnings per share

Revenue trends explain a company’s historical growth, but the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) points to the profitability of that growth – for example, a company could inflate its revenue through excessive spending on advertising and promotions.

Landstar’s EPS declined by 11.5% annually over the last five years, more than its revenue. This indicates the company struggled because its fixed cost base made it difficult to adjust to shrinking demand.

A closer look at Landstar’s earnings helps explain the drivers of its performance. As mentioned earlier, Landstar’s operating margin expanded this quarter but declined by 3.7 percentage points over the last five years. This was the most relevant factor (aside from the revenue impact) behind its lower earnings; interest expenses and taxes can also affect EPS but don’t tell us as much about a company’s fundamentals.

Like with revenue, we analyze EPS over a more recent period because it can provide insight into an emerging theme or development for the business.

For Landstar, its two-year annual EPS declines of 10% show it’s still underperforming. These results were poor regardless of the period examined.

In Q3, Landstar reported EPS of $1.42, up from $0.56 in the same quarter last year. Despite growing year on year, this result missed analysts’ consensus estimates. Over the next 12 months, Wall Street expects Landstar’s full-year EPS to grow 59.7% from $4.72 to $7.54, according to S&P.

Key takeaways from Landstar’s Q3 results

Landstar’s narrow revenue beat against analysts’ consensus estimates was offset by an EPS miss, making for a softer quarter overall. Shares remained flat at $168.44 immediately after the results.

Landstar’s latest earnings report disappointed. One quarter doesn’t define a company’s quality, so a closer look can help determine whether the stock is a buy at the current price. The latest quarter is only one part of the longer-term assessment of business quality. Quality, when combined with valuation, can help determine if the stock is a buy. For more on Landstar, read our full research report here (it’s free).